The Georgia State Patrol says no citations will be issued to either driver in connection with a wreck Tuesday involving a Habersham County school bus.
GSP Trooper Travis Sanders says he intends to issue a warning to bus driver James Frankum of Demorest for failure to yield right of way but adds, “I have no intention of issuing a citation in this crash.”
The 70-year old Frankum is a 19-year veteran bus driver. He is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of the GSP investigation.
The accident happened yesterday during the morning school rush hour at the intersection of Highway 197 North and Gastley Road when an LP Service truck collided with the school bus.
The driver of the truck, 41-year old Jason Moore of Clarkesville, was traveling south on Highway 197 toward Clarkesville when it happened. “The school bus pulled out in front of me,” Moore told Now Habersham shortly after the wreck, “I had no place to go.” Trooper Sanders says Moore “breaked and steered” to avoid the bus. His truck hit the bus on the driver’s side.
No one was injured.
The thirty-five 6th graders onboard the bus were enroute from Fairview Elementary to North Habersham Middle School. Officials say they were shaken up by the wreck but were otherwise unharmed. The students waited inside the bus for at least thirty minutes as officials made sure they were alright and another bus was brought in to carry them to school.
Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper says parents were notified of the accident by school staff. He issued the following statement:
We are very thankful that there were no injuries as a result of the accident. Anytime there is an accident involving a school bus, that is always our first concern.
This is the second morning school rush hour accident at the Highway 197 North/Gastley Road intersection in exactly three months. Two cars collided there on September 16 when one car pulled out in front of the other. Troopers say 17-year old Emma Matthews of Murrayville pulled onto Highway 197 from Gastley Road and ran into the path of a southbound car driven by 56-year old Diane Dodgins of Clarkesville. Both women were injured in that wreck. Matthews was charged with failure to yield right of way.
